- Provide legal advice and representation to the Governor and executive agencies, state boards and commissions and institutions of higher education. The advice commonly includes help with personnel issues, contracts, purchasing, regulatory and real estate matters and the review of proposed legislation. The office also represents those agencies in court.
- Provide written legal advice in the form of official opinions to members of the General Assembly and government officials.
- Defend criminal convictions on appeal and defend the state when prisoners sue concerning their incarceration.
- Defend the constitutionality of state laws when they are challenged in court.
- Enforce state laws that protect businesses and consumers when there are violations.
- Represent consumers in utility matters before the State Corporation Commission.
- Collect debts owed to state agencies, hospitals and universities.
- Conduct or assist criminal investigations and prosecutions in certain limited cases (for example, Medicaid fraud, money laundering, theft of state property, environmental crimes and computer crimes).
- Represent the Department of Social Services in its efforts to collect child support on behalf of children and families.
- Supervise the appointment and payment of private attorneys hired by other state agencies for various matters.
- Assist victims of crime who are following criminal cases at the appellate level.
- Provide information to the public on identity theft prevention and remediation.
- Administer grants to help reduce crimes involving gangs, drugs and sex predators.
- Administer the Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment Program to protect children from the most dangerous predators.
I have provided this information because not one of these bullet points specifically addresses the actions of and legislation passed by the United States government. Now I am not being naive in this situation and simply thinking that no state has ever filed suit against the federal government, as Cuccinelli and other state Attorney Generals recently did regarding the constitutionality of the new health care bill. However, challenging new legislation or the findings by a government agency (as was the case with Cuccinelli and the EPA's report on greenhouse gases) is not an area on which a state Attorney General should focus the majority of his/her time. In fact, State Sen. Donald McEachin (D-VA) commented on this very subject: "What we would prefer to see [Cuccinelli] doing is going after these predatory lenders that are breaking the law, going after Internet predators. That's the mission of the Attorney General's office. To be a consumer advocate, to protect our children. To ensure our safety. Not to tilt at windmills in a Don Quixote type fashion."
With that being said, Cuccinelli clearly thinks that he and his role are above the federal government, the White House and, most of all, President Obama. Combining this arrogance with his (1) prejudice towards homosexuals, (2) alarmist attitude regarding the federal government and (3) stance on President Obama's citizenship, the residents of Virginia (including myself) should expect to be ignored for the next four years.
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